My husband and I live along the water and when we first moved in, there were these plants that were growing by the water. We weren’t sure what these plants were and we referred to them as bamboo because that is what they resembled. My husband would cut them down and within just a few days, they were growing back. I had never seen a plant that grew like this before so I wanted to find out more about it and how to get rid of it once and for all.

I went online and I searched for different terms thinking that maybe I would come across something to identify this plant or weed. I searched for plants that grow along the water and fast growing bamboo by the water. That’s when I finally found the name of the plant we were dealing with. The Japanese knotweed plant. Once I identified the plant, I searched for Japanese knotweed removal to see how to get rid of it and keep it from coming back. I learned a good bit about this plant and how it is native to Asian countries. I also learned that it was planted here in order to keep erosion from happening along the river banks. It was really interesting learning about this plant. However, one of the reasons it was used for erosion control was because the root system on this plant runs so deep in the ground and so far. If you cut it down, it will just keep coming back. The only solution to get rid of this plant was to kill the roots on it. I read more and more about this plant and how you can use different things such as vinegar and lime to get rid of it once and for all. I also noticed that my neighbor didn’t have any in his yard or along the bank of the river. I asked him how he got rid of it and he said he used a solution that was a mix of salt and water and it killed it so it never came back.

Before attempting Japanese knotweed removal with any type of concoction I wanted to learn more about what I was using to make sure it was safe for the environment. I found most of the things were pretty safe to use but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get rid of this plant. I knew my husband could mow it to keep it under control, but the root system did seem to help with the erosion that water would normally cause. I even noticed the difference in my neighbors bank along the river and how much it had changed over time, because there wasn’t anything holding up the dirt since he got rid of the plant.

After thinking about attempting to remove this plant and get rid of it once and for all, I changed my mind. It was keeping the bank intact and it could be mowed to keep it under control.…